Excercise and Orthotics

Nysportsred
Nysportsred Posts: 224 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hopefully someone can help with this. I have one leg about ¾ of an inch shorter than the other due to surgery I had as a kid. I have orthotics and it balances me. The issue I am having is the orthidic covered by insurance is one that is able to be used in for regular walking and also athletic activity, but the material they make it with causes my foot to slip around in the shoe and every workout I am getting blisters. I was fitted for the new running shoes I am using now at a sporting goods place and I went back to ask them if I should try another size and they said it is really the orthotic and I would need to figure out a way to make that work as it isn’t the sneakers. If I exercise with out them then while I don’t feel being off balance it causes hip and back pain.

Does anyone have any ideas that may help or have had this themselves and know of a solution?

Replies

  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Have you looked into having your footwear built up, rather than having an insert?
    It can run expensive if you can’t get it covered, but just doing your sports footwear and using the insert for daily wear may help with that.

    My SiL has a shorter leg and gets the built up sole in her runners. (Canada, don’t have any details)

    Cheers, h.
  • MostlyWater
    MostlyWater Posts: 4,294 Member
    What does your dr aand/or podiatrist say?

    What do you use for your regular shoes?
  • Nysportsred
    Nysportsred Posts: 224 Member
    edited February 2019
    MostlyWater wrote: »
    What does your dr aand/or podiatrist say?

    What do you use for your regular shoes?

    Regular shoes I use orthotics, but if using them when running your foot slips around because of the material in top of the orthotic and causes the blisters.

    Podiatrist told me to try using them to exercise and the next appt I have with him that he was free is February 20,

    I found online someone on a forum I got from google had a similar issue so I’ll give their solution a try. They got dr. Scholls gel insoles, but also bought the dr scholls heal insole and put that under the one with the shorter leg to even out the legs.
  • Phirrgus
    Phirrgus Posts: 1,894 Member
    @Nysportsred - I don't know if this will work for you or not...I have hard plastic, custom made orthotics that I can't really get by without for any length of time, and I completely understand the annoyance.

    There are various non-skid products on the market you could try. Some can be difficult to remove if you don't like the feel though.

    My solution was to use course sandpaper and rough the surfaces up.

    There's still movement between socks and orthotics of course, but nothing nearly as annoying as it was with the surfaces completely smooth. They feel a good deal more natural inside the shoes and boots I wear now.
  • Madwife2009
    Madwife2009 Posts: 1,369 Member
    What about trying those socks that have a sole that is grippy? The only issue may be that they are thicker and a bit more uncomfortable under the foot. But may help until you can see your podiatrist.

    Just a random thought.
  • Nysportsred
    Nysportsred Posts: 224 Member
    Phirrgus wrote: »
    @Nysportsred - I don't know if this will work for you or not...I have hard plastic, custom made orthotics that I can't really get by without for any length of time, and I completely understand the annoyance.

    There are various non-skid products on the market you could try. Some can be difficult to remove if you don't like the feel though.

    My solution was to use course sandpaper and rough the surfaces up.

    There's still movement between socks and orthotics of course, but nothing nearly as annoying as it was with the surfaces completely smooth. They feel a good deal more natural inside the shoes and boots I wear now.

    I have to try that out.
    Madwife2009 wrote: »
    What about trying those socks that have a sole that is grippy? The only issue may be that they are thicker and a bit more uncomfortable under the foot. But may help until you can see your podiatrist.

    Just a random thought.

    It’s a good idea. I will look into getting those. Thank you.

  • lorrpb
    lorrpb Posts: 11,463 Member
    Try wearing a liner sock next your foot like we do when hiking, then your regular sock over it. This is specifically to prevent blisters. The liner is slippery material, polypropylene, silk, maybe even nylon. This causes any slippage to occur between the 2 pair of socks, rather than between the sock and your skin. If you’re not currently wearing any socks , that would be the first thing to try.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,486 Member
    Though not addressed to me, I appreciate you coming back to update.
    Glad the liner socks worked.

    Cheers, h.
  • mom22dogs
    mom22dogs Posts: 470 Member
    Easy solution is to have that shoe built up - they slice the sole and sandwich 3/4 inch (or whatever length you need) to the bottom of the shoe. I have a 2 inch leg length discrepancy and have this done with every pair of shoes I get.
  • knightreader
    knightreader Posts: 813 Member
    read title of post and knew where this was headed. had this problem a long time ago. here was my solution... i placed three pieces of velcro on the bottom of my orthodic going lengthwise from heel towards toe. lined those up with three pieces of velcro on sneaker sole and they never moved. they sell circle velcro pieces. try it. didn't need specially made sneakers.
  • heybales
    heybales Posts: 18,842 Member
    That is pretty big adjustment. I thought I had issues getting toe box high enough to allow extra length.

    Velcro works great as mentioned above, or I finally ended up doing these in my sport shoes full length, and daily shoes half length version.
    Under the regular shoe insole.

    You trim them to size - so no movement going on.
    Full length I cut slits in from the side part way where the natural bend wants to be.
    I'm only getting 1/4, so not sure how they'd stack up to 3/4 - but much cheaper that custom orthotic probably.

    https://gwheellift.com/footlift.html
  • englishmuffinruns
    englishmuffinruns Posts: 70 Member
    Could you put some moleskin on the top of the orthotic? it's sticky on the bottom and the top side feels like felt. my husband uses it to prevent blisters when he runs. It might have just enough "grip" to keep your foot from sliding and not add any bulk to the orthotic. It's also removable and should leave a residue behind.
  • Nysportsred
    Nysportsred Posts: 224 Member
    All of these are good suggestions as well. I also need to try them out and test them.

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